About Me

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Chuckled when I read this bit in an old essay by Pearl S. Buck. "An extrovert finds himself boring and turns to anybody else he can find." She goes on to say "The novelist, therefroe, who is an extrovert by nature or cultivation, stands a fair chance."

I never thought of myself as an extrovert in the way she describes but I do find my life is boring. The life of the characters I invent is more interesting than anything that occurs in my life. What about you? Do you find your fictional characters more interesting than yourself?

I've thought about this for a time. I also find when I'm investing in a character I'm curious about what's happening in his or her life. One I'm finished writing about their story, I'm ready to move on to new characters. Does this mean the writer is also fickle? I'm afraid so.

I've been asked many times which is my favorite of the characters in my stories. My response is I really can't choose but the one I'm working with now is my favorite for the moment.

I remember my father once telling me and I'll try to get it right. This was a long time ago. "Men are like streetcars. There's another one along every minute." Well that's the way this writer feels about her characters. There's another one along, maybe not every minute, but every time I start to write a new book.